Path of Elements
by SakuraLina
Summary: Aisha's mentor warned her that once she chose a path to walk on, there was no going back. She decided her aim would be the elemental path, without a second thought of the others. On her journey, she met Elsword, who offered to help her with her adventure. As the small group grew bigger, Aisha questioned her decision. Was the Path of Elements the right one for her?
1. Chapter 1: Is This a Fateful Day?

**Author's Note:** Hello! This isn't my first fanfiction, but it IS my first one in this archive. I'm still a newbie author, though. I've been reading stories in the Elsword Archive since June, and I've seen so many great stories that are absolutely beautiful. But... compared to me... ugh, mine are just... T.T

Pushing that aside, I've gathered up my courage, after playing a bit of Elsword for the first time, to write a fanfiction.

To readers of Sakura of the Garden: I'm really, really sorry that I'm using this time to write a new story instead of continuing to the next chapter. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about it and I will come back to update that one later.

School has started for me, so I'll update faster than I do in the summer. Ironic, right? One more thing: I know this chapter isn't the best I can do, but please read it. There will be better chapters later on.

I noticed that the beginning and end seem better than the middle... so... uh... just saying. Ok, I think I rambled on and on for too long. Enjoy this chapter! Disclaimer: **The cover picture is by swd3e2. I do NOT own it.**

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Purple eyes were staring intently into a gigantic, dusty book, absorbing the complicated nonsense organized professionally on the pages, like how paper just soaks up water. It was phenomenal how a little 15-year-old girl could easily comprehend an ancient book that even adults would have to struggle to understand.

The setting of a girl reading a book peacefully on a simple, yet beautiful wooden bench was adorned by the cherry blossom trees that rustled, its lovely pink petals slowly drifting down one by one, finally landing quietly on the sturdy ground. The scene's beauty was further enhanced when lively birds sang a delightful song, as a playful breeze swept purple bangs to the side. The yellow pages ruffled, causing the girl to tighten her hold on them. Her legs alternately swung back and forth while she hummed a merry tune.

Most of her hair in the back was tied up in a bun with an exquisite gold-trimmed item that also included a glimmering pink gem in the back. She was wearing a white shirt and skirt decorated with thin black lines, a big yellow bow on her shirt, and a piece of cloth above her knee and down to her heels; it was baggy near the bottom, followed by durable brown shoes.

The colossal, ancient book she borrowed from the library this morning was quite interesting. Sure, it was pretty heavy compared to a normal book, but that also meant that intricate, irresistible details were bound to be inside the wrinkled, aged stack of connected papers. Out of all the books she had found in the library, this one caught her attention immediately and was by far the most amazing book she had read. Well, started reading, anyway. From the elegant designs that decorated the cover, to the endless tons of information, it was just impossible to simply ignore it.

By just looking at only the face of the female teenager, most people would infer that she was just a normal, ordinary village girl. But that wasn't the case. Recently, the organization of High Magicians accepted her prodigious skills and abilities and announced her as an official member. As a result, she wore the uniform that proudly proved her accomplishment. Not that it was a big accomplishment for the genius magician. Of course, there were other organizations like the ones that contained Dark Magicians and Battle Magicians, along with bigger ones, but those weren't important for now. Ever since she officially became a High Magician, she had studied books about elemental magic for endless hours, even late at night. Her hunger for information hadn't ceased, no matter how much she took in. Noticing that the library at the High Magician Association was larger than the one in Elder, she browsed for reading material that would be some of use to her. That was how she found the book that she was reading. It had a simple title, nothing too complicated, which was easy to remember.

The book was called…

The Path of Elements.

The girl's hands brushed the tip of the right page's corner. Flip! She turned the page, ready for some more. It turned out that she was having difficulty reading the first sentence. Why was that? Laughing families passed by, disturbing her quiet reading. She checked the time. 3:00 P.M. It was around that time where it was noisiest. Should she go somewhere else to read in peace? This specific place was a wonderful one to read, with the wind occasionally caressing her face, the luscious petals decorating the floor and bench, and the weather perfect and just the right temperature. She decided she would stay here. She had gotten used to reading in a noisy place anyway, due to her love for reading.

"Hey, it's that nerd again!"

Perfect… She supposed since she came here every day she was in Elder to read, someone would eventually call her a nerd. She had difficulty understanding why people had hate for someone more intelligent than them. Perhaps they were jealous? She shook her head, unable to understand why someone would do something like that JUST because they were jealous.

One of the guys cracked his knuckles, trying to look all cool and powerful. He sneered at the girl, a plan forming in his head. He was the leader of the gang.

"Hey, nerd. You don't belong here. Get yourself out of my place! You no-life person, trespassing in my territory! Who do you think you are, huh? It's too bad you're a girl. I'll have to ask my girlfriend to do my job for me."

The purple-haired magician snorted. They were just normal people who decided to gang up against people who they deemed unworthy. She was sure that their small heads would tremble against the weight of doing simple addition. Maybe she would show off a little of magic to them, so they wouldn't disturb her again. She closed the dusty old book, held it in her hand, and stood up and faced them, with her hands on her hips and a look that said 'Stay out of my way and you'll escape unharmed'.

The gang leader's girlfriend stepped up to the front, a sneer on her face. Apparently she didn't get her message. She grabbed for the magician's hair, but the purplenette, who was used to fighting in battle, dodged it easily with one flick of her head.

"Go get her, Karen! Beat her to death!" The rest of the gang cheered on the girl named Karen. She cracked her knuckles, resembling her boyfriend, and punched left and right, the High Magician dodging each one. Karen grunted in frustration and tried something new. She lifted her leg to kick the mage, which evidently failed. She continued like this, yet not a single hit landed. The annoyed magician rolled her eyes. Really? If they were going to try to attack her, at least they could show some real strength and intelligence in their every move. The bored High Magician couldn't afford to waste time playing with annoying peeps who didn't know how to mind their own business.

Thump! Karen managed to knock the book out of the purplenette's hands when she caught her off guard. No! That book was precious to her! The High Magician scurried over to grab it, but not before the gang leader did. He held up the book in her face with a smirk. She grabbed for the book, but he yanked it away from her. She would've shot a fireball at him for doing that, but with her book in his hand, she didn't want to risk burning it.

"Give it back!"

"Why would I?

"…Just give my book back!"

"No. In fact, I'll rip this junk apart!"

"STOP!"

He tried to open the book, but it wouldn't let him. His eyes searched for a lock or a hidden opening, but to his dismay, there wasn't one. The purplenette was also thoroughly confused despite her fuming anger. Why was she able to open it normally? The teen boy used all of his strength to get it open. Flash! A bright light surrounded the tome, making the cherry blossom trees sway away from it. The magician closed her eyelids shut tight. When the light dimmed, she peeked through one cautiously opened purple eye. She gasped. Everything was normal. Except for the gang. They lay on the ground, all in a circle with the book in the center, as if there was an explosion. She walked over and picked it up slowly. Her hands carefully opened the book, while she held in her breath. Nothing. Nothing happened. She was at the same page she was at. Her purple eyes widened.

What in Elrios was going on?

A redhead boy came running over, obviously searching for the cause of the light. He stopped at the current scene, panting heavily. He simply gaped at the sprawled group of people and the purple-haired girl holding a… When did books get that big?

The gang leader stirred and opened his eyes. In a flash, he was up on his feet. He looked around wildly at his friends and the boy, before focusing his gaze on a shocked girl and pointing an accusing finger at her.

"You! What did you do?"

The purplenette closed "The Path of Elements" with a loud thud. She turned her head slowly, her beautiful features shining as she did so. This left the leader blushing slightly.

"What do you mean?"

He quickly snapped out of his daze. "You must have used some kind of trickery!"

"Like what?" She knew what he was talking about, but wanted to know if this brat actually knew something.

"Like… the… you know." He used his hands to symbolize the explosion, since his mouth was unable to talk for once.

"I didn't do that. You opened the book and that light explosion happened. What did YOU do?" She smirked. She had turned the tables.

The blond leader, who accused her, was actually at a loss for words with no proof to back this up. The redhead, who was on the side watching the two argue, decided to walk in. The blondie smiled with relief when he saw the familiar redhead walk towards them.

"Hey, Elsword, how's it 'goin?"

"I'm doing great on my travels, Steve. What happened here?" The accused one groaned. Great, another annoying brat just HAD to come here.

"It's like I said. SHE…" He took this moment to point another accusing finger. "…did something and me and my friends ended up like this." He smiled, knowing that someone was on his side. His friends stood up and growled at the sight of the purple magician. The mentioned girl slowly backed away from the "wild animals". Her eyes caught something. Red. Purple and red stared at each other, curious about the other.

Elsword had spiky red hair, almost like the tendrils of flames, with a red half shirt and a white jacket-ish cloth except that it was short and covered his arms, and gloves and a belt that had a dazzling ruby on them, with black pants, and silver shoes. His red and white sword was strapped to his back. His eyes widened when he realized what she was wearing.

"You're a High Magician, right?" The magician's eyes widened, too, before reverting back to normal a split second later. How did he know with one glance? She averted her gaze, unhappy that this stupid idiot decided to spoil something that she was going to show. Whispers erupted within the accusing group, voices astonished with this new piece of information.

"Yes, of course. I was going to show you, but-"

Steve smirked when the High Mage confirmed it.

"See! I told you! You are a witch!" Cheers erupted, with Karen jumping up and down gleefully next to her boyfriend.

"First of all, I'm not a witch, but a magician! Second of all, I didn't do it." The gang quieted down. It was weird how fast they changed their moods, wasn't it? The purplenette snapped out of her thoughts. This wasn't the time to try to get off topic. "Look, I'll even show you. I'll go to the center of Elder to find somewhere else to read, and you guys can pick on other poor victims, ok?" Without waiting for approval, she took a step forward, already casting a spell for teleportation. Light glowed in a circle around her feet. In any second now, she would be in the center of Eld-

"Stop." That one word seemed to terminate her process of teleportation, just like it was meant to do. Glaring furiously at the stupid redhead that interrupted her, she realized she would have to wait a bit longer until she could freely dwell in curiosity and interest in the tome that rested in her hand.

"What now?"

"I want to hear from you what happened."

An exasperated sigh escaped from her mouth. Oh, well, she supposed she could get this over quickly.

"Fine. They tried to attack me because I was reading on that bench over there and grabbed my book, and opened it in an attempt to tear it apart. And… that light explosion happened."

Elsword pondered about the information that he gathered, but… well… he wasn't exactly the type of person to think. She said more than Steve, so she definitely was the correct one. That was his "logical" thinking, anyway.

"Ok, so it wasn't your fault." Purple eyebrows raised, their fuzzy hairs above the confusion in her eyes.

"What?" Steve gaped at Elsword. "I thought you were my buddy!"

"Who said I was your buddy?"

"You know what, I'm sorry about your girlfriend, and I'm not going to talk to you, loser." Elsword lifted his right hand, already engulfed in hungry flames that licked the air. The scaredy-blonde ran away, his friends trailing after him.

Meanwhile, a vein popped in the purple-haired magician's forehead. Who was that guy to think that at this age, she would have a boyfriend? Sure, he had a girlfriend, but he was an ordinary villager. She, on the other hand, was a prodigious mage. She had no time for flirting. Especially since… that happened.

Elsword turned around to face her. He chuckled lightly.

"My name is Elsword. I'm sorry for stopping you earlier. I know the jerks are annoying, but I just wanted to hear the solid truth about it. I'll treat you to a meal as my apology." Hm, maybe Elsword wouldn't be too bad to have as a boyfriend.

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At the Elder restaurant...

"So grapehead…" The insulted mage's eye twitched in annoyance. She took back her words. A name calling idiot wasn't suited to be her boyfriend.

SLAM! Her hands slammed the table. Really hard. Her chair fell backwards on the polished floor when she stood up abruptly. Chatting people quieted down as their attention directed to the scene.

"You know, I HAVE A NAME. IT'S AISHA. A-I-SHA. Oh, wait, I bet your small, idiotic brain doesn't know that. My apologies." Elsword stood up, too, while also slamming his hands and pushing his chair backwards so it fell, just like the furious girl.

"WELL GUESS WHAT!? YOU WEREN'T SMART ENOUGH TO TELL ME YOUR NAME, SO I KINDLY GAVE YOU ONE!"

"EXCUSE ME!? KINDLY GAVE ME ONE? YOU KNEW I WAS TIRED AND ACCIDENTALLY FORGOT TO TELL YOU MY NAME, SO YOU TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THAT! DON'T TALK ABOUT THIS "KINDNESS" BUSINESS WHEN YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT MEANS!"

"OH, SO YOU THINK I'M STUPID AND MEAN! I TOOK TIME OUT OF MY PRECIOUS LIFE TO HELP YOU WITH THOSE GUYS AND EVEN TREATED YOU TO A MEAL AND THIS IS HOW YOU TREAT ME!? I THOUGHT THAT YOU THOUGHT I WAS SO STUPID THAT I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW YOU HAD A NAME! AND YOU'RE TELLING ME HERE THAT I WAS SMART ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT YOU WERE TIRED? HAH! LOOK WHO'S THE DUMB ONE!"

"HELPED ME WITH THOSE JERKS? DON'T TRY TO MAKE ME LAUGH! I COULD'VE HANDLED THEM MYSELF! BESIDES, YOUR RUDENESS WAS THE REASON WHY I'M YELLING AT YOU RIGHT NOW!"

"COULD'VE HANDLED THEM BY YOURSELF? HOW ABOUT **YOU** TRY TO NOT MAKE ME LAUGH! I BET THAT YOU WOULD BE CRYING RIGHT NOW IF I HADN'T GRACIOUSLY LENT A HAND TO YOU, GRAPEHEAD!"

"THAT'S IT! YOU ARE SO INCREDIBLY STUPID; YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE WE'RE SHOUTING! AND YOU'RE EVEN SHOUTING LOUDER THAN ME!"

At the mention of their current location, Elsword and Aisha rotated their heads just to make sure that nobody was listening to their bickering. Unfortunately, their eyes focused in the direction of an annoyed manager, anger written all over his face, standing right in front of the arguing pair with his arms crossed.

Aisha's face was red, but it was because of embarrassment than anger. "Oops, I'm sorry." The manager pointed to the exit door.

"Leave."

The redhead widened his eyes. "B-but, I haven't finished my food! And I paid for it!"

"I SAID leave." The pair walked out the door. Aisha tried to walk proudly despite the embarrassment on her face. Elsword sulked as he realized he almost spend all his money and didn't even get to eat one piece. It was because of that stupid grapehead. The night sky twinkled brightly with radiance as the angry pair walked in silence until they reached their inn, which they found that they both stayed in it, coincidentally.

"You deserved it, Elbaka."

"What did you just say!?"

"I SAID ELBAKA! DID YOU NOT HEAR ME? YOU'RE NOT JUST STUPID, YOU'RE ALSO DEAF!" And they argued over and over, until their lack of energy told them to stop. They managed to mumble 'Good night.', but not without a few insulting words here and there.

Aisha yawned. She slipped into her sleepwear and climbed onto the inn's bed. Today was actually… quite interesting for once. She found a book, read it, and it flashed in a brilliant and incredibly blinding light when they were about to tear it apart. At first, Elsword seemed rather nice, "helping" her with the problem and even going so far to treat her to a meal, but when he called her 'Grapehead', that was when the arguments started. She chuckled lightly at the thought of one event after another, like how one word led to a series of following quarrels, and how that flash of light was followed by meeting Elsword for the first time. She even felt sorry, since she was the one that actually started those series of pointless bickering. It was weird how life worked, right? Too bad she couldn't read the book from the High Magician Library that she borrowed. But… what was that flash of light? Was today… possibly… a fateful day? Would… there… be… more… "fateful"… days…? Her thoughts slowed down as her sleepiness took over. Soft peachy eyelids covered her violet irises, letting them rest from the tiring day.

Next to Aisha's room, a beautiful elf with long green hair and lovely verdant eyes laid on the bed. Remembering her Chief's panicked words and the mission that lay in front of her, she was having difficulty trying to sleep. On her table laid dark teal ribbons and a finely crafted green, dark teal, and white bow.

Aisha, Elsword, and the delicate elf eventually fell asleep, unaware of the treacherous journeys in front of them. Nobody knew the unpredictable future, one day traveling solo, and another day traveling with at least 7 people from different backgrounds and motives, but sharing the same goal. After all, the future was, still is, and will still be… a mysterious thing.

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**Author's Note:** See what I said about the beginning and end being better than the middle? I seriously thought that the small fight with Aisha vs. Villagers was a bit too cliche, especially when I just HAD to drag Elsword to the scene. I really did wanted to smack myself in the head. No, wait, I already did. Does anyone recognize something... unique about the title of the book that Aisha was reading? Did anyone notice that I didn't use a character's name until it was mentioned? By the way, I'm sure you realized that I have an almost-next-to-nothing-knowledge-of-clothing-terms . I apologize for that. I'm terrible at describing clothes! Since I failed at describing them, I'll tell you what they were wearing. Aisha was wearing the High Magician promotional costume, and the outfit that Elsword is wearing is the Magic Knight promotional costume.

Overall, I think I did ok, considering my newbie abilites, but it doesn't look like I did well. For example, in Sakura of the Garden, the first chapter was shorter than this one, but when I compare both, Sakura of the Garden seemed better. Is school making me tired? Ugh, why did I feel the need to drag the topic of another fanfiction in a whole completely different archive in here? In fact, I'm going to be really shocked if I get more than 2 or 3 reviews on this. Heh, I'll be surprised if I get even 1.

**Edit: Thanks to Breathless Abyss's kind suggestion, I have deleted the author notes in the middle of the story that included my rambling about how horrible I was at describing Aisha's and Elsword's outfit. I have put them at the end of the first paragraph in this bottom author note.**


	2. Chapter 2: Sincere Apology

**SakuraLina's Author Note:**

**I'm sorry! I was going to finish writing this chapter and publish it last weekend... but... I published this today (September 28, 2013). Please forgive me! Q~Q**

**_Flashback:_ Hm, I might as well just see how many reviews my not-so-good story has received. *falls out of chair* What the... 9 REVIEWS!? NINE!? NINE FOR ONE LITTLE CHAPTER!? I HAVEN'T EVEN GOT TO THE EXCITING PARTS YET! *clears throat* Excuse me.. Where did that come from? *motivation levels up* I guess I'll be updating faster then! La la la~**

_**Back to Reality:**_

**I wasn't going to write a one-shot for the person who answered correctly anyway, but nobody really answered this question: ****Does anyone recognize something... unique about the title of the book that Aisha was reading?**

**So, the answer is... The title of the book and the title of this fanfiction are the SAME! Well, except for the fact that the book has "The" at the beginning. Pretty interesting, right? Maybe not...**

**Now, replies to my awesome reviewers! Yay! :**

**Breathless Abyss: O.o Did the amazing Abyss-san review my story!? O. M. G! Me doing a great job? Higher quality fic? O.O I think I'm getting more praise than I should! Thanks for the advice by the way! I edited that part and put your pen name on the bottom "Author's Note". Thanks! I'll ask you if I need any help, although I'm usually the type of person to write by myself.**

**Tsurara-Oikawa Chan:**** O.O It's the author of "A Wave's Return: Is He Actually Back?" and the prequel! I'll let you know that I'm waiting for your update. ;) I'm glad you found it fine! Lol, I did kinda terrible at describing clothing closely, so I'm going to back off and only point out the easy parts instead. Yep, I still need to improve. :) Here's the next chapter! Hope you like it!**

**AishaElementalMaster:****This isn't exactly a prologue, but it's more like the "calm before the storm". I'm glad that you reviewed, though! :) There will be more exciting chapters, so please continue reading!**

**SwitchON: Woah, woah, woah. You liked my story THAT much!? O.O Thank you so much! Hope you enjoy this update!**

**Orithia Windbell:**** Your avatar is very cute! Well, you were right. This this story DID get more than 3 reviews. It got TRIPLE the reviews! Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**iPuffyx:**** Hm, let's see... the answer is yes and no. He is on his path to becoming a Rune Slayer, but he hasn't reached that far yet. Right now he's only a Magic Knight. I'm actually not sure how the job advancements will go in this story, but I do have an idea. Thanks for reviewing! Oh, and here's the chapter you've been waiting for! ****  
**

**YuriCore: Yay, Ana-chan! I already replied to your review by PMing, so... But anyway, I guess I WAS expecting your review, so I probably meant other reviewers. That's 'cuz you're an awesome friend and reviewer. ;) I FINALLY updated! It took longer than I expected, plus I still have to finish the book report and the homework. Aaaahh! Lol, that was random. XD**

**3: O.O Looks like you're very excited about this story! Thanks! And... what's next, you ask? You'll have to find out! ;)**

**DerpyKanshii:**** Thanks! Yes, it did turn out with a lot of favs for just one tiny chapter! 6 favs! Can you believe it? Well, you do believe it, actually, but I'm just... surprised, I guess! O.O**

**I had no idea that replying to reviews took so long... This is another boring chapter, I THINK, but there's going to be some fluffy scenes. This is one of my first times writing romancey stuff, so, hopefully, this chapter is to everyone's liking. If not, at least most.**

**And I'm rambling again... **

**Ready, set... GO!**

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Purple irises opened, only to find a bright, blinding light piercing them. Aisha squinted at the sudden change from pitch blackness to luminous brightness. She groaned and pulled the covers above her head, shielding her from it. A few seconds later, she yawned and rose to a sitting position on her bed. Well, the inn's bed. She stretched her body, preparing her muscles for the day ahead of her. She rested her chin on one of her palms, a thoughtful look on her face. What would she do today? Perhaps she would read the book from yesterday. Or maybe she would practice her magic. Another possibility would be to help the villagers, earning a few rewards that would help her along the journey. Last night's thoughts flooded her mind, snapping her to a decision. That's right! She almost forgot what she had to do!

The first thing she had planned for today was to apologize to Elsword for her rudeness last night. She had to admit that it was partly her fault for arguing about pointless topics, and even encouraging the squabble to go on. She hoped she wouldn't lose her cool like that again. As a member of the prestigious High Magician Association, it was humiliating to admit that she was eagerly participating in such a nonsensical fight.

She climbed off of the bed, her steps leading to the bathroom. Dressing quickly, she easily slipped into the official High Magician uniform that somehow emanated with pride, even though Aisha didn't recall being proud of herself for being accepted into the association. Well, maybe just a little, but not enough to make the outfit sparkle and glimmer like it did. Hm, maybe it was just the high-quality materials used to make it that did the trick. Her petite hands grabbed the comb and brushed her messy hair. She tied in a bun, making sure her purple locks didn't get in the way of anything. With most of her hair away from her face, she straightened her tangled bangs. She smiled to herself as she remembered the time when realized she could look pretty if she tried to fix a few things here and there. She brushed her teeth and locked her room, ready to go. She would have gone somewhere to eat breakfast by now, but she remembered that there was one little thing she had to do first.

She walked towards her destination and stopped at a door. She took a deep breath before knocking. No answer.

"Hello? Is Elsword here?" Another awkward silence. Aisha frowned. She had prepared what to say, but that stupid redhead had obviously went outside just when she was about to do so. Oh, well, she would just come later to apologize. The High Magician walked out of the inn and into the bright sunny day in Elder. Elder was a nice and peaceful village, perfect for reading. It was a prosperous town, thanks to Wally. The market was bustling with activity with usual, but other than that, it was rather tranquil.

She headed to the restaurant from last night and grimaced at the memories of it yesterday. Hopefully they would let her eat. On the way there, her ears picked up shouts and sounds of fire beating up wood dummies. She stopped walking to her destination and took a side path to the Free Training Area, greeting Camilla, the one who supervised the arena area.

The one who was standing there, panting heavily, drenched in sweat, working furiously to get stronger, striking the wood dummies with his heavy sword and intense fire, and continued despite being noticeably tired was…

Elsword. Who knew that beneath his idiotic brain and short temper, he was pushing himself to his limit in training? Aisha stood there, completely awed. She thought about apologizing now, but shook her head when she realized that she would disturb his training. She would apologize later.

In a few minutes, she entered the restaurant. She took a deep breath and opened the door. Everything was pretty much normal here, but things could get chaotic if she wasn't careful. She put on her "best" smile and ordered some food. Luckily, it seemed like they had forgotten about the incident last night. Well, at least everyone except the manager. He frowned at the sight of Aisha, but hesitantly gave her another chance. She sighed with relief as she sat on the chair.

Her mind wandered to the scene of Elsword training. His muscles were streamlined and powerful, his scarlet hair swayed in the wind, determined fiery eyes overcoming any challenge, and his face quite charming. The aroma of the restaurant's food in front of her snapped Aisha awake, leading to realizing what she was thinking. From her chin to forehead, her face reddened, rivaled the shade of Elsword's hair.

No, no, no, NO! What was she thinking? There was no way that she was thinking of the brat like that! Yeah, she was just… well, what was she thinking? Forcefully pushing those thoughts away, the High Magician looked at the scrumptious dishes in front of her. The sight and smell of it made her drool a bit. The colorful, luscious, radiant food was just waiting to be devoured. Aisha hungrily ate it quickly, shoving as much of it into her mouth as possible, while being careful not to get any stains on her uniform.

Another girl, who looked about the same age as her, giggled. Aisha blushed a bit as she realized she was eating messily. Her purple eyes briefly met green ones, and then spotted her strange ears. Were those elven ears? Then she must be an elf.

The verdant-haired elf shifted uncomfortably under the stare of a purple-haired magician. It wasn't only the mage. She could feel the stares of the humans, the hushed whispers, and the pointing fingers burn into the back of her delicate head. Maybe she should've bought some food instead of going to a restaurant. After all, the sight and smell of meat made her feel nauseous. Trying her best to ignore the stares, she quickly gulped down her food, and then checked out of the restaurant.

Aisha had watched the elf walk out of this place. To be honest, she was surprised to find out that elves still existed. It was once known that they became extinct. But the figure just proved that theory to be incorrect. A small smile appeared on her face. She had learned something new today, unlike usual. Thinking back to her thoughts last night, she wondered if this day would also be one of those "fateful" days. Or if yesterday was a day leading to a chain of interesting events. Eventually, she finished her small breakfast and headed out into the sunshine.

The warm sun and refreshing breeze greeted her, as always. She walked to the inn, just to check if Elsword was there. Nope, he wasn't there. Her face held a disappointed expression and she left the Elder inn.

While waiting for him to return, she looked around the town, helping the villagers and receiving rewards in return, to pass the time. Apparently there were some monsters that had stolen their goods. One by one, she took them down easily with her fireballs and wand. There was no need for her to use more advanced spells. That would be just a waste of precious mana when a few whacks and fire could defeat them. When there was nothing else to do, she simply sat in her inn room and read the huge tome from yesterday.

After moments of reading and page flipping, the bookworm gazed outside the window. The oranges, pinks, and purples of the sunset painted the sky a gorgeous hue. Maybe Elsword came back to rest from his training.

Knock, knock, knock. Still no answer. Was he sleeping? Or was he still somewhere else? In her frustration and laziness to use her own two legs, she teleported to the Free Training Center, hoping to at least find a clue to where he was. Her purple irises widened.

Her hands covered her mouth in shock. He was STILL practicing, this time extremely weary and tired. Had he eaten his breakfast yet? Had he even eaten ANYTHING at all? She saw him staggering, his dull eyes rolling back, about to collapse on the rough ground.

"ELSWORD!" THAT, my readers, was the first time she called him by his name. Unfortunately, the Magic Knight fell to the ground, a thud resonating through the air. Aisha immediately ran over to where he lay, examining him. His skin was as pale as snow, and a jaded expression lingered on his face. A shocked expression settled on her face when her eyes scanned over the many cuts and bruised he had. She could hear him panting hard and steady, catching his breath. Good, he didn't train himself to death or anything. She sighed with relief and sat beside him, trying not to look at his toned abdomen. Instead, the High Magician took out her book and continued reading, not bothering to find somewhere else to sit. It was only then that she wrinkled her nose when she took note of how the redhead stank like the inside of a huge garbage can. Not that she had been there, anyway.

Elsword groaned, diverting Aisha's attention to him. He stood up, wobbling a bit from his lack of energy. One of his feet cautiously took a step, but the result was Elsword falling back again onto the hard, concrete ground. His red eyes stared at the figure next to him.

"If you're tired and hungry, you can rest here. I can give you some food," said Aisha, not lifting her eyes from the reading material in her hands. It was a bit more difficult to see the words, since the setting sun didn't offer much light, but it was still possible to read with ease.

"I'm not hungry." Despite Elsword's statement, his stomach growled at him a second later. The purple-haired High Magician giggled. He pouted at her, before asking her a question, although he was pretty sure what the answer was.

"Hey, grapehead, you called my name, right?" Her eye twitched at the sound of that stupid nickname that the stupid idiot created. Why would she ever call him by his name? Especially when he didn't call hers? Her mind flashed to the scene moments ago when the magician shouted the knight's name right before he collapsed. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, and her lavender irises nervously shifted away from his smirking face.

"I take that as a yes." Aisha opened her mouth to protest, but Elsword beat her to it. "Thanks…" Her pupils widened. Did he really thank her? "Gra- no… Aisha." This time the blushing magician slammed the book shut and looked at him, a disbelieving look evident on her face. Expecting another silly smirk, she was taken aback when a warm, sunny, and genuine smile replaced it. Not to mention that he winked at her. Aisha had a perplexed look, wondering what on Elrios was going on. Putting that thought aside, she returned the smile with another bright, cheerful, gentle, and unlike the one she had shown in the restaurant, a genuine smile.

"You're welcome." She was really happy when he used her name. However, there was this feeling she had forgotten something. As she pieced together the events of the day, she came to a conclusion. How could she forget about it? "Um, Elsword?" asked Aisha nervously, not quite sure how to carry out her apology.

"Hm?"

"I'm… really sorry about yesterday. I lost control of myself and yelled at you like that. I…" Her sentence trailed off as she realized she didn't know what else she wanted to say.

"It's ok. Everyone has their good and bad times. How about we forget about yesterday and move on?" For some reason, a warm and fuzzy feeling filled her mind, when Elsword accepted her apology. Not to mention she felt relieved. What in the name of El was happening to her?

"I like that idea!"

"I'm hungry, so I'm going to eat. How about you?"

"Huh? Oh, my stomach isn't really that hungry." Like Elsword, her stomach protested and growled a split second after she said that. The pair cracked up into merry laughter. They stood up and walked to the inn together. The sun fell asleep, and the hiding twinkly stars walked out from their shadows and decorated the cloudless night sky, the moon joining in, too. It was a beautiful evening, the cherry blossoms leisurely swaying to a dance. Aisha almost forgot how beautiful Elder was. Her brain was too occupied with apologizing and retrieving back stolen items.

A cherry blossom petal landed gracefully on a purple head. Elsword's hand brushed it off of her hair. The purple magician was surprised at the movement.

Glancing at the redhead next to her, she kept a watchful eye on Elsword just in case one of his unsteady steps caused him to fall. She fished out an energy potion in her backpack and handed it to him. Elsword paused for a second, his eyes scanning the bottle and then her face, and shook his head, denying her offer. She was perplexed; although their talk brought some redness to his face, it was still considerably pale. It occurred to her that he looked like a walking ghost.

"It's fine, I don't need it. It's nice enough for you to say 'sorry', but if I drank your potion, I would feel bad." Aisha blinked once, twice, no particular emotion coming to her. The only thing in her mind was food. Delicious, mouth-watering food. After yanking herself from that thought, she frowned. He didn't need it? Surely he would have to obtain some form of energy.

"Besides, there's a party at the inn tonight. Why don't we eat there? I'll be full of energy at the end of the day," suggested Elsword, almost as if he knew what she was thinking. A light bulb sparked in her head.

"That's right, I completely forgot about that!" She face palmed herself. How could she? It was a reward from the villagers, especially for the High Magician, since she had helped them with their dilemmas. Their business had gone well, lately, so they decided to celebrate. She smiled brightly, and dragged the poor, tired knight by his forearm into the inn.

"Hey, wait up, Aisha! I can't go on any longer…" He panted heavily, his body increasing its breathing rate in response to running.

"What do you mean, Elsword? We're here!" The Magic Knight stared at his surroundings, amazed at what he saw. It wasn't a very big room, but spacious enough for hosting a small party. Glittering chandeliers illuminated every bit of it, enhancing the shine of the polished chairs and tables. Appealing aromas and appearances of the food immediately made his mouth water. A well-dressed guitarist played several catchy tunes, his fingers dancing across the instrument. Aisha, too, stood there, awed. Meanwhile, her hand slid to his hand, both momentarily clasping each other, without either of them noticing it. She pulled her hand away from his slowly, examining the room. Weird. She felt a tingling sensation in her hand. Why was that? Her face positioned into a frown, while her brain started searching for answers. She still didn't notice what the real reason was, but shook it off as she categorized the unanswered question as "frivolous and unimportant".

A few minutes later, after Elsword had finally caught his breath, and Aisha was done gazing at everything in amazement, wondering how a plain, simple room transformed overnight into this, they walked over to the counter, ordering some foods and drinks. A strikingly familiar face appeared in front of them.

"Ariel? Why are you here?" asked the curious magician.

"I haven't been to parties like these often lately, and as you know, work can be stressful, so I decided to take a break. Don't forget that this will be a great chance for me to advertise~!"

"I see. But, isn't this considered work?"

"Not exactly. To me, this is much more fun! It's like my job, but in a better way. You see, as a member of the Cobo Service, I'm still able to provide help to the adventurers here, and still take part in a celebration! Isn't this amazing? ~" Her orange ponytail swished side to side, expressing how excited she was working here.

"Interesting. It's simply fascinating how you enjoy wor-"

"Can I get some food? I'm hungry…" An irritated Aisha wacked the hungry Elsword in the head with her pink and white wand. The poor redhead grimaced and rubbed his head, trying to soothe the pain.

"Hey, what was that for!?"

"Geez, stop being so rude! Didn't you know that I was talking to someone!?"

"Aw, come on, you forgot that I was hungry." Then his eyes averted away and a faint blush was clear, raising suspicion in Aisha. "Well, it's not like I was hungry… so… I… uh… I-I'll just wait for you to finish talking, then I can eat…"

Her face relaxed at the sight of Elsword being generous. She smiled gently. "Sorry, sorry. I just got too carried away." Her purple irises then changed to Ariel's direction. "So, Ariel, can I order some food?"

"Sure. I'll make sure you get a discount, as you're a great customer and a friend of mine. By the way, are both of you eating together?" Purple and red locked on each other, asking the same silent question. Elsword shrugged, and then nodded, symbolizing the fact that if she wanted to eat with him, she could. Aisha came to a decision, and then turned again to face the Cobo employee. "Yes, we'll be eating together. May I ask you why you questioned that?"

"Well, since he is your boyfriend, I'll be sure to give him a discount, too." Her azure eyes winked. Aisha's face had magically turned into the shade of a juicy, ripe tomato.

"N-no, E-el-s-sword i-isn't …" She then took a big breath to calm herself before continuing. "He… isn't my… b-boyfriend…" Her pupils stole a glance at the mention boy, noticing that his face and hair were the same hue.

Ariel lightly chuckled, a wide grin on her face. She innocently tilted her head at a slight angle. "Ah, I must have made a mistake. I have to say though, you two looked like a really cute couple."

"N-NO WE'RE NOT!" Mage and knight shouted and slammed their fists on the counter simultaneously, each staring at the other furiously. Their shouts were clearly not directed to Ariel, but to the scarlet red faces in front of them.

"I apologize for my misunderstanding. What would you like to eat tonight?" The topic of food seemed to snap them out of their little staring contest, two pairs of hands immediately grabbing the menu.

Elsword and Aisha sat on the table, their attention focused on only one thing. Food. The redhead gobbled up his food and downed them with a single gulp, repeating the same process for the rest. On the other hand, Aisha ate hers delicately, staring at the person in front of her with disgust. Mere seconds later, she glanced around her suspiciously, before eating her food in a fashion strikingly similar to Elsword. No, perhaps it wasn't "similar", but the same way, except for who ate the food, of course. Their growling tummies appeared to be unlimited, never getting full regardless of how much was stuffed into it.

Aisha's purple eyes stared at the knight's outfit, sure that she had seen that before. Elsword caught her glance and smirked. He knew that she was staring at his abdominal muscles and opened his mouth to speak, but firmly shut it close when he considered the fact that he didn't want to start another argument. Noticing that the smirking brat was looking at her, she picked up a napkin and wiped her messy mouth gently. Using her magic, she traced the air with her finger, and the napkin flew over to the garbage. A question out of nowhere popped into her head.

"So, Elsword, are you a member of an organization?"

"Yeah. The name's Magic Knights. It just opened a few days ago, so you probably don't know about it."

The magician nodded her head, understanding. "Ah, I see. I recently heard about a new organization consisting of people who use a mix of close-combat and magic techniques. I never thought I would meet one so soon."

Elsword suddenly narrowed his eyes, before asking a question slowly. "Have you heard anything about my si- no, I mean Elesis, the Red Haired Knight?"

"Well… I've heard of her extraordinary talents, but aside from that, I don't have any other information. Why did you ask?"

"I… uh… would it be ok for me to not tell you? I don't really want to think about it."

"Sure… You can tell me when you feel like it, although I have to admit I am curious about what you asked."

"Ok, thanks." He grinned, resulting in another smile on Aisha's face. She stood up and walked to the counter, assuming that her companion was also done.

The pair waved good-bye to Ariel, exiting the room. Their feet soon stopped in front of a door.

"I guess I'll go to my room," said the Magic Knight, yawning.

"Ok. Good night."

"What do you think of the Magic Knights?" She turned her head abruptly at the sudden question.

"Well, I find it a little strange that a knight would use magic. After all, the traditional ones devote themselves to their sword skills."

The redhead frowned. "Are you saying that my organization is the worst?"

Taken back by this hasty judgment, she faced him, anger written all over her once delicate face. "What do you mean?" She tried her best to keep her voice steady, but couldn't help raising it up a bit. "Are you accusing me of hating something just because I find it slightly different?"

"Obviously, yes."

"So, what if I think it's strange?" Her slight formality in her words faded every second that passed by. "It doesn't mean that I think it's bad. It just means that it's something new to me."

"Really. I bet you think that we're such a nuisance to your world of 'Oh, this is the traditional way to do this and that,' am I right?"

"What are you talking about? I never said that!"

"Pff, yeah right, I could totally hear your so-called 'truth' without even hearing those words out of your stupid little mouth!"

An invisible electric charge connected their narrowed eyes, signifying that another meaningless battle had started. In another moment, they shouted and yelled, yanking a poor elf out of her peaceful slumber.

It wasn't exactly peaceful, though. Nightmares of terror invaded her dreams, leading to a restless sleep. She was actually kind of glad that they woke her up… whoever the shouting couple was. She had been thrashing around in her sleep, covered in cold sweat, trapped in the vision of everything close to her slipping away into dust and that she could do nothing to prevent it. Her heavy breaths gradually relaxed and slowed down. She glanced at the bow and ribbons on her table. They were a gift from the elves in her home. A sudden pang of homesickness settled in her mind, along with tears threatening to spill out. Her delicate hands quickly wiped them away. No, she couldn't think like that. This was her mission. If she failed, not only her own existence would be in danger, but also the millions of elves that lived in her home would disappear. That was why she couldn't think of anything else but the task that fate had created for her. A new resolve shone in her green eyes before she closed them.

Aisha glanced at the clock. Midnight. If Ariel wasn't there to break both of them, including that idiot, apart, she suspected they would've argued until dawn. She sighed. She was getting along with that brat so well, only to have their friendship ripped into pieces. The magician flopped herself onto the bed. Oh, well. At least this time she wasn't the one who started it, right? Her thoughts flashed back to the female elf. Why was she here? Weren't elves supposed to be extinct? The books that she read all stated that as a fact. She picked up "The Path of Elements" and randomly flipped a couple of pages, then guided it through the air and to the top of a desk with her magic. Yeah, right, as if a tome containing information on elemental magic would have any about elves.

A sudden, radiant glow erupted from the book, levitating it through the air and back into Aisha's hands. It flipped open to the back of its pages, where a blank sheet was present. The High Magician blinked in confusion, wondering if she was hallucinating or something. Black ink appeared, the words printing itself on the page one by one.

'_Once upon a time, elves and humans existed together peacefully. However, an event caused the elves to distrust the humans. As a result, they secluded themselves, where they were safe from them. The humans did not trust the elves either, and were secretly glad they were gone for good. As time passed by and there were no signs of any elf, they were considered to be extinct. _

_Where did this come from? I've never read anything like this…'_

As soon as Aisha finished reading, the paragraph disappeared and the tome ceased glowing. How weird. She closed the book and opened it again, looking at the last page in shock. There was no blank page. She flipped to the previous page to check if there was one hidden in front of it, but to her dismay, she found no such thing. She winced as she pinched herself to check if this was a dream. It wasn't. Levitating the book to the table again, she pulled the blanket above her and drifted off into a slumber. She tried to ignore the strange incident…

But while she was asleep, the strange book emanated an aura with murky shades, signifying a mysterious and dark future. She had no idea what was going to happen. No idea.

* * *

**Sakuralina's OTHER Author Note:**

**And... that's it! I hope it wasn't too cheesy or anything! Hm, I wonder why Elsword is trying to hide the fact that Elsa, wait no- Elesis is his sister~... You'll have to find out~! I think this chapter is slightly longer, but I'm not sure.**

** I would appreciate lotsa yummy reviews, so PLEASE review! Of course, you don't have to, but if you want me to update faster... Hee hee~**

**My stomach is growling like a wild animal now, so if you'll excuse me... *chomps up food***

**P.S. There may be other pairings, ESPECIALLY one that I really want to try out so... uh.. just saying! ;) **


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